Rice University
UTSA
Owls Race Past Roadrunners in C-USA Opener
4/22/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
By Chuck Pool (cpool@rice.edu)
Tommy Bennett and David Warren picked up wins in singles and doubles to lead the 26th Rice Owls to a 4-0 win over UTSA in the opening round of the 2016 Conference USA Men's Tennis Championship at the George R. Brown Tennis Center in Houston on Friday.
The Owls (21-7) broke out on top by taking the doubles point when Bennett and Warren, who came into the weekend ranked 30th in the nation, clinched the doubles point with a 6-4 win on court one and Bennett followed that up with a swift 6-0, 6-2 singles win on court two.
Emanuel Llamas add the third point of the day with a 6-1, 6-4 win at court five and Warren improved to 16-2 on the year to deliver the clinch point with a 6-4, 6-3 win on court four to send the Owls to a semifinal matchup against UAB.
In four meetings this year with C-USA schools, the Owls have yet to lose a set, including 4-0 wins over the Roadrunners and the Blazers at GRBTC in March.
Owls head coach Efe Ustundag said he was pleased with his team's effort in the opener.
"I thought it was a very good effort from the start. (With the earlier success) it would have been easy to lose focus and come to this match already thinking about tomorrow or Sunday, but I'm glad the boys kept it very business-like and took care of each point. We fought well and I'm very happy with the way we competed today."
UAB advanced with a 4-2 win over Southern Miss to improve to 15-7. The other semifinal matchup will feature second seed Old Dominion facing off against Middle Tennessee. Both matches begin at noon at the George R. Brown Tennis Center.
